Ok, this is going to be so so so important for the churches who group people by homogeneous groupings according to geographical location, life stage, interests, job type etc. When you have such groups at the macro level, it inevitably leads to this hated word called transfer. When you move from one life stage to another. When you change from one job to another. For effectiveness, the group in which you serve in changes as well. For the readers who aren't faced with such situations, you can apply what will be discussed to your own life about the transplanting of people from one group to another or for assimilating a new member.

We always say this, if you are spiritual, wherever i put you, you will influence and you will impact those around you. If you are able to lead 10 people in this group, when i move you to another group, you should be able to lead 10 as well. If you star burst in a certain group, i put you in a new environment, you will thrive as well. Basically, if you are made of substance, you will do well. That may be true in some instances but in many it is not. We have seen so many instances where people failed to live up to the expectations and the hype of that came with the transfer. We send off many people from youth to other ministries but many of them failed to impact and you ask yourself why. If they are made of substance, which many of them really are, why is it that they find it so hard to again weave their magic in a new group?

Bill Hybels discussed this in leadership summit 2006. He discussed this thing called the platform. It was just a mind blowing concept that hit me. It has been what many of us have overlooked all along. The main idea you see is that when a leader thrive in a certain ministry, say youth, it is not just the leader's work and conviction alone that built up the group. There must be a confluence of factors which we call the "Platform" on which allows the group to thrive or achieve success. This Platform includes things like their core team, their leaders, the positive culture, friends serving together, familiarity, experience in that ministry for many years, conviction and ownership of a certain vision and many more. All these things come together to form success.

When we pluck just an individual out of this success and put them in our group expecting the same result and for them to weave their magic, both parties are often left frustrated, disappointed and often want to turn back the wheels to our good old days. This has been happening in so many lives that we as church leaders have the responsibility to ensure that we don't ever allow this to happen in our group.

We thank God that this is not the end of the road. There are solutions to this after all. This is a few way out of it.

The platform we are talking about may vary from case to case, individuals to individuals but the principle is don't expect to throw a successful person into a group, do nothing from there and expect returns. People are not robots. There are a few "universals" that will apply to most people who are in transition.

Firstly, give people the visionary platform. Without vision, people perish. simple as there. One of the main role of the new leader is to give people the ownership of the new vision. Don't just throw them your vision. Explain to them the vision, why we have the vision, the history of the vision, where are we currently at in reaching the vision and what role they can play in the vision. When people own a vision, things happen.

Secondly, it is the community platform. The new people needs to feel welcomed. They need to be comfortable with the community and enjoy their fellowship.

Thirdly, it is the service platform. People need to not just serve but serve with a purpose and know why they are doing what they are doing. Don't just treat new members are foot soldiers. They are leaders in their own capacity capable of thinking and initiating and adding so much value to the group they are in, if only they are being tapped upon.

Fourthly, it is the empowerment platform. This may come in different forms. It is not just about being a careleader or a shepherd. That is one form of empowerment but not everything. there are many other ways to empower someone. I make it a point to ask my new members that from their experience in their past ministry, how would they run my ministry differently. What did they see in their previous ministry that worked and how we can learn from them? This is not just a token question to make them feel involved but i will really take their ideas seriously and if possible, we will implement them. Empowerment comes when people realise that they can make a difference and what they initiate can very possibly result in something tangible at the end of the day, they will thrive.

There are other platforms but the above four are the main ones. Understand what made these people successful and if possible, replicate them in their new environment. (E.g If weekly shepherding adds alot to this person's life in the past, i don't see a reason why the new leader cannot accommodate this)

That was for the receiving leader. Now, it takes two hands to clap. The person undergoing transition can make himself much more mobile and adaptable by being able to rise above occasion and carry on despite the new ministry not being able to provide a particular platform for him. Let's take the example of the platform - a leader's core team. Many a times, it is not possible to transfer an entire leadership team. When the leader is being transferred and he needs to work without this team, he needs to rise above the occasion and carry on despite the missing platform. It may be his calling now to just serve as a member thus making that particular platform less urgent at this point. There are instances which you are called to build a platform. Lets say we are talking about a worship leader. He transferred without his music team but God has called him to build on from scratch in the new ministry. This is where we are sent out to strengthen these platforms for people to succeed.

In conclusion, take this home with you. As receiving leaders, if it is possible to give a platform to this person to succeed, please pay careful attention to it or you'll be losing gems on your hands. As people who are moving, if it is not possible for us to have the kind of platform that helped us thrive in the previous ministry, we need to adapt and do whatever helps. It may be to build a new platform or it may be to learn to step up using another platform or it may be to do away with that platform altogether.

Transplanting people is like organ transplant. When an external organ is introduced to the body, we have to ensure that it fits in, that it is not rejected, that it will eventually work at the optimum if not better compared to its previous body.

Labels: Leadership